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NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
2 Or 3 Phases, Space For Diwali And Chhath: Sources On Bihar Election Dates
New Delhi: The 2025 Bihar Assembly Election may be held over two or three phases, Election Commission sources told NDTV Monday. The schedule will be decided keeping Diwali and Chhath Puja in mind, the sources also said. Diwali this year will be on October 20 and Chhath on October 28. The Bihar Assembly term ends on November 22, so the election process (including counting and declaration of results) must be finished before that. Sources said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will visit the state sometime this month to oversee preparations. Meanwhile, the poll panel is training to BLO, or booth level operators to ensure a fair election, and avoid allegations related to voter lists like those made by the Congress and other opposition parties after the 2024 Maharashtra and Haryana elections and the Delhi election in February. The Bharatiya Janata Party romped to victories in all three. In Delhi it thumped the Aam Aadmi Party to claim power in the national capital for the first time in nearly three decades, and in Haryana it overcame a strong start by the Congress to retain power for a third consecutive term in the heartland state. In Maharashtra voter list fraud was alleged after the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to perform like in the Lok Sabha election a few months earlier. The Election Commission had strongly refused all such claims. And now, as part of a renewed effort to counter such allegations, the poll panel will provide all BLOs with identity cards, sources said. This will allow them to go door-to-door for verification. Also, a campaign will be held to update the voter list, so people turning 18 can be added. This will also, sources said, eliminate the problem of duplicate voter ID numbers. The Election Commission is also prepared to deal with challenges posed by AI, sources said. 2020 Bihar Election The 2020 Bihar election was held in three phases; voting was on October 28, November 3, and November 7, with results announced on November 10. The result was an overwhelming victory for the BJP and Janata Dal (United)-led alliance, but there was much drama that followed. JDU boss and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lived up to his ' paltu Kumar' sobriquet in just two years later, in August 2022, declaring "I would rather die than go with the BJP (anymore)". He re-aligned with Tejashwi Yadav and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, but then flipped again. Amid confusion and controversy, in January 2024 he dumped the RJD and returned to the BJP's side. The 2025 election will be keenly watched, as much for what Nitish Kumar does next as for the BJP building up steam ahead of a critical round of state polls next year, when Bengal and Assam will vote. Both polls will likely be dominated by fierce debates over issues like immigration. In 2026 Tamil Nadu and Kerala will also vote. Both states have historically rejected the BJP and its brand of muscular nationalism, with the former giving the DMK and Congress alliance big wins in the past three major polls - the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections.
India Gazette
23-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
ECI inaugurates two-day conference of CEOs to ensure correct and updated Electoral Rolls
New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): The Election Commission of India inaugurated a two-day conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi on Friday. The two-day programme, which was organised by Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi, was followed by an interaction with the participants. The conference focused on leveraging technology to ensure correct and updated electoral rolls ahead of upcoming elections. The event brought together top officials from across the country to discuss strategies and innovations in election management. Earlier, on April 23, the Election Commission of India had organised a two-day training and capacity-building session for Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) and other field-level functionaries at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), New Delhi. That was the third such batch of BLOs to be trained from the poll-bound state of Bihar. 229 Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), 12 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and two District Election Officers (DEOs) from the State are participating in the two-day training programme. A specialised one-day training programme for the State Police Nodal Officer (SPNO) and Police Officers from Bihar also commenced. ECI said that the training is planned to familiarise the BLOs with their roles and responsibilities as per the statutory framework and equip them to ensure error-free electoral rolls. They will also be trained in the IT applications designed to support their roles. This is the latest in the first phase of the ongoing physical training programmes at IIIDEM, in which 555 BLOs from the poll-bound states of Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam and 279 Booth Level Agents (BLA)--the first of 10 recognised national and state political parties from Bihar--have already been trained. 'These well-trained BLOs will form a corps of Assembly Level Master Trainers (ALMTs) to strengthen the entire network of BLOs nationwide,' ECI said. The poll body said the training of SPNOs and Police Officers from Bihar aims to improve coordination between election authorities and the police for enhanced electoral management, especially in the areas of law and order, vulnerability assessment, Paramilitary forces (CAPF) deployment, and model code of conduct (MCC) enforcement. ECI said that to date, over 3,000 participants from 141 countries, including large democracies such as Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Brazil, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Israel, Russia and South Africa, have benefited from training programmes from India's globally acclaimed election management practices at IIIDEM. (ANI)
India Today
02-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Digital linking of death certificates among poll body's key electoral reforms
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a series of significant measures aimed at enhancing the accuracy of electoral rolls and increasing transparency in the electoral process. The development came amid ongoing concerns raised by opposition parties regarding the integrity of voter initiatives include the digital integration of death certificates, issuance of photo ID cards for booth-level officers, and a redesigned voter information slip for better clarity. These steps are intended to strengthen the credibility of the electoral rolls and promote greater transparency throughout the election INTEGRATION OF DEATH CERTIFICATESadvertisementA key initiative involves the digital integration of death certificate data. The poll body will now digitally obtain death registration data directly from the Registrar General of India, which will expedite and improve the accuracy of removing deceased individuals from electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will receive timely death data, empowering Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to conduct efficient field verifications without the need for formal Form 7 requests. This streamlined process promises to maintain more up-to-date electoral ID CARDS FOR BOOTH-LEVEL OFFICERS To further enhance public trust and facilitate easier identification, the Commission has mandated the issuance of standard photo identity cards for all Booth Level Officers (BLO). These officers, who serve as a vital link between the Election Commission and voters, will now carry identification cards featuring their measure addresses previous concerns about the difficulty citizens and polling agents faced in identifying BLOs, thereby increasing transparency during house-to-house verification, registration campaigns and other electoral processes. ID card for BLOs. REDESIGNED VOTER INFORMATION SLIPSIn another voter-centric move, the Election Commission has redesigned Voter Information Slips (VIS) for improved clarity. The serial number and part number of each voter will now be printed in a larger font size, enabling voters to easily locate their designated polling stations. This enhancement will also assist polling officials in efficiently locating voter names on the electoral Watch
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Election Commission to implement electronic death data integration to clean voter rolls
Representative image NEW DELHI: Introducing an important reform aimed at cleaning the electoral roll, the Election Commission on Thursday said it would obtain deaths registration data electronically from Registrar General of India, which maintains mandatory database of all births and deaths in line with the amendments made to Registration of Births and Deaths Act (RBD Act) in 2023. This would eliminate the dependence on field visits by the booth level officers (BLO) to gather data on dead voters in a household, so that they can be removed from the roll. The BLO will, however, still be required to make field visits to re-verify the information of deaths received from the RGI database, said an EC official. In two other reforms approved by commission on Thursday, the format of the voter information slips shall be revised to prominently display voter details; and standard photo identity cards issued to all BLOs to help the citizens recognise them and verify their identity. While the redesigned voter slip will make it easier for the electors to identify their polling station and for the polling officials to efficiently locate their names in the roll, the identity cards will help the citizens interact with BLOs more confidently during house-to-house visits for voter verification and registration. As per the system followed so far for dead voters, either their kin could apply through Form 7 for removal of the deceased elector from the roll, followed by a verification visit by the BLO, or the BLO would himself initiate the process during a field visit for roll updation. Form 7 would then be processed by the ERO to remove the dead voter permanently from the roll. However, this process sometimes involved a time-lag between death of a voter and his removal from the roll, creating scope for bogus or unnecessary entries. 'The Commission will now obtain death registration data electronically from the RGI in line with Rule 9 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and Section 3(5)(b) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (as amended in 2023). This will ensure that the EROs receive timely information about registered deaths. This will also enable BLOs to re-verify the information through field visits, without waiting for a formal request under Form 7,' EC said in a statement issued on Thursday. Sources said while the RBD (Amendment) Act, 2023, also allows RGI to share births database with the EC — since it can help ascertain when a citizen by birth turns 18 years of age and should be enrolled, this reform may need to wait longer as registration of births and deaths was made mandatory only in 2023. 'For now, EC is focusing on getting data on deaths,' a senior officer told TOI.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
EC to seek death details digitally for more accurate electoral rolls
Lucknow: In order to update voters' list at a faster pace and make it free of errors, the Election Commission will now obtain death registration data electronically from the Registrar General of India, said Chandrashekhar , additional chief electoral officer of UP. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now These initiatives were developed during the chief electoral officers' conference held in March. Under the new system, ED has introduced three key measures to improve electoral roll accuracy and voter convenience Electoral registration officers (EROs) will receive electronic death registration data directly from the Registrar General of India. TNN This implementation follows Rule 9 of the Electoral Registration Rules, 1960, and Section 3(5)(b) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (amended 2023). This enables EROs to obtain prompt information about deceased persons, allowing booth level officers to conduct field verifications and remove names without awaiting formal applications. Commission has enhanced the Voter Information Slip design to improve accessibility. The slip now features enlarged font sizes for voter serial numbers and part numbers, facilitating easier identification at polling stations and in electoral rolls . The commission will issue standardised photo identity cards to all booth level officers appointed under Section 13B(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. This measure helps citizens recognise and interact with BLOs with certainty. The commission emphasises the importance of building reliable connections between BLOs and voters during their house visits.
